How easy is it for psychiatrists to force drug?

Tyler77 wrote:I'm not sure how it exactly happens in Pennsylvania, but I do know, that with my one lockup, if you didn't take your medicine, they probably wouldn't have let you out (unless you signed the the whole "get out in three days" release thing). They also, while not forcing, encouraged you heavily to go to group therapy session while in the ward. I didn't go to the first few while I was there (mainly because I didn't know how things worked there quite yet). But I would be interested to find out how PA does that kind of stuff :3

I looked it up and it looks like you don't have a court review in PA.

If a patient refuses medication, the Pennsylvania Office of MentalHealth procedures for involuntary medication govern. Theyessentially require a second opinion, which can be done by an in-house psychiatrist, so long as he/she does an independent assessment. If the patient continues to refuse voluntary meds,the second opinion must be conducted every 30 days. The order for involuntary meds can be issued from the day a person isadmitted.

From a study done showing state by state laws. http://mentalhealth.vermont.gov/sites/d ... cation.pdf.

According to it:
MEDICATION PERMITTED UPONADMISSION TO STATE HOSPITAL• Georgia• Maryland• Michigan• Missouri• New Jersey• North Carolina• Pennsylvania• South Carolina• Tennessee• West Virginia

MEDICATION ALLOWED UPON JUDICIAL COMMITTMENT• Alabama• Arkansas• Delaware• District of Columbia• Kansas• Idaho• Indiana• Louisiana• Mississippi• Wisconsin• Wyoming• Utah

MEDICATION ALLOWED UPONCOMMITMENT: EVIDENCE REGARDING NEED REQUIRED• Minnesota• Florida• Iowa• Oklahoma• Rhode Island• Washington

SEPARATE JUDICIAL HEARING a. often heard with commitment• Alaska• Illinois• Texas

SEPARATE JUDCIAL HEARINGb. heard after commitment ordered• California• Colorado• Hawaii• Kentucky• Massachusetts• New York• North Dakota• Ohio• Oregon• South Dakota• Vermont• Virginia

SEPARATE JUDICIAL ORDERFOR A GUARDIAN• Connecticut• New Mexico

ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING• Maine• Nebraska• New Hampshire (?)• Nevada

LoL I like the ? for NH. this is where I am from. Here are some links that describe it:

http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/dcbcs/nhh/eligibility.htm
http://www.nhbar.org/publications/displ ... asp?id=373

I like this thread. It is informational and I really enjoy seeing how other places do it so that I can help advocate for change in my state. It would be great if we could gather a bunch of information from each state and country.

The big argument here was that they had to make the process easier and faster to put it more in line with what other states do. We can't let people have too many rights now can we?

The other thing about the process is the standard they use to apply it. Back in my day they had to use a substituted judgement standard. A hearing officer had to decide what the patient would do if he or she was competent to make the decision. They have since changed it to having a judge decide what is in the patient's best interest. That is thought to make it easier to win an order to force drug.

Cheze2 wrote:I like this thread. It is informational and I really enjoy seeing how other places do it so that I can help advocate for change in my state. It would be great if we could gather a bunch of information from each state and country.

This page is intended to provide information on a state by state basis as well as some other countries. We don't have information on all of the states, but Mental Health Law at MegaLaw has a state by state listing of laws pertaining to mental health.

Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
www.psychrights.org

I feel terrible for anyone force drugged. I checked myself in to a regular hospital and it was the worst experience of my life. I wasn't even suicidal but I couldn't have things like a comb or toothbrush. I had a roommate that slept 24 hours a day and snored so loud next to me and when I checked in I already hadn't slept for weeks...but they wouldn't do anything about it. They threatened to keep me there for a long time even though I was doing nothing wrong. They drugged me up with pills that I couldn't even keep my eyes open on and insisted I go to group meetings every half hour and do things like exercise. I was sick constantly but still couldn't sleep. They told me if I didn't go to all the meetings I wouldn't be able to get out. It was awful.

What were the pills? Most likely brain damaging neuroleptics. I refused to take them so they kept me for 2 years. I didn't know anyone who checked in voluntarily. Most people got up there after having some kind of minor charge like hitchhiking on the interstate, stealing cigarettes, or throwing a brick through a window. I had a roommate who screamed 'I GOD DAMN THAT JUDGE TO HELL!!!' in the middle of the night all the time. He was refusing the drugs too. They had him for about 18 months when they finally got an order to force drug him. Then he escaped and went out of state. He only had some disorderly conduct charges against him so they never put out an APB on him to bring him back.

They were prolixin. I took them for a month and they damaged my left hand somehow.

2 years! Fck that's a long time!

Involuntary commitment and inpatient treatment is jail. They take away your rights in several ways and your rights to bear arms and purchase arms also goes away just as if you had committed a felony. They can also revoke your drivers license if you have been labeled mentally ill by a judge or court. Involuntary commitment clearly violates the constitution in America and the supreme court agrees.

The process to force drug people is very easy because these people have ways around following the law. All they have to say is that you were acting in a threatening manner and they can force themselves onto you day one. I have seen it with my own eyes.

who38 wrote:They were prolixin. I took them for a month and they damaged my left hand somehow.

It didn't damage your hand, it damaged the part of your brain that controls your hand maybe.

1013 victim wrote:Involuntary commitment and inpatient treatment is jail. They take away your rights in several ways and your rights to bear arms and purchase arms also goes away just as if you had committed a felony. They can also revoke your drivers license if you have been labeled mentally ill by a judge or court. Involuntary commitment clearly violates the constitution in America and the supreme court agrees.

The process to force drug people is very easy because these people have ways around following the law. All they have to say is that you were acting in a threatening manner and they can force themselves onto you day one. I have seen it with my own eyes.

In the place I was in they usually took some minor incident and blew it up into a major threat. One guy pushed another patient the day before his hearing. That crushed his chances of getting out. I won a release order after about 8 months but they found another patient to say I had said I wanted to get the creeps who had railroaded me so tyhey revoked my discharge and kept me for another year+.

And if you are too calm and in control they can actually use THAT against you too. I had been arrested on a simple assault charge - taking a swing at a child molester. But after many months at the hospital I had not so much as raised my voice at anyone. I was talking to a psychologist and he said THAT was why they were so concerned - because I was not normally assaultive. Then I said to him 'but if I was acting assaultive then you would say you were concerned because I am an assaultive person.' And he said 'you know you're right about that.' Are they liars or morons? BOTH I think.